Our Trainers
We endeavour to build excellent relationships with our clients to meet their challenges and priorities.
Abigail Khamou
Almas is a registered mental health nurse and has ten years of expertise in providing specialised treatment for adolescents with ill mental health. She has held positions as a clinician, leader, and manager throughout her career. She had undertaken audits to validate practices and received training as a Quality Improvement mentor to aid and enhance practice.
Her career exceeds ten years in the field of integrative counselling. In addition, she has received clinical hypnotherapy certification.
She has expertise in safeguarding children, young people and adults and has vast expertise working with trauma. She provides clinical supervision concerning nursing practice and safeguarding. With her extensive knowledge and understanding, she would evaluate serious incident reports on behalf of the NHS trust to ensure that safeguarding was considered.
She possesses considerable expertise in supporting victims and survivors of domestic abuse.
She is proficient in event coordination and in-person and online training for both sizable and small cohorts.
She is currently enrolled in a master’s programme for nurses
Bridget Rothwell
Bridget Rothwell has been a full time learning and development professional for almost 20 years, following on from social work practice and a management career in both public and third sectors.
As a facilitator, she has worked across all sectors and with a wide range of professions, largely in the fields of supervision and leadership and practice in child welfare and protection.
She is a registered Social Worker, associate postgraduate tutor and accredited lead for reviews conducted using the Learning Together (SCIE) methodology.
Carla Thomas
Carla Thomas qualified in Social Work in 1982 and has worked in children’s safeguarding (both as a practitioner and a trainer) for over 30 years.
She has worked for the DfE in the development of training resources on Childhood Neglect and has developed a multi-agency evidence-based neglect screening tool.
Carla developed training manuals and resources on the Impact of Domestic Abuse on Children and Young People and has trained across the country and Europe on a variety of child safeguarding related topics.
Carol Jolliffe
Dr Anna Harvey
Anna has been a qualified social worker since 1997. She has mainly worked with children and families but she also trains and develops adult and mental health social workers.
Anna is currently employed by the Tavistock and Portman as a senior clinical lecturer in social work and social care. She works on the professional doctorate in social work, teaching on the integrated professional doctorate across different pathways (Social work, family therapy psychotherapy/systems, and organisational consultancy).
In her role as senior lecturer she has led the advanced practice module for the past 7 years. This module uses the Work Discussion group model to help social workers develop their therapeutic skills, apply psychoanalytic and systemic ideas to their practice.
Alongside her role as senior lecturer, she was the curriculum development lead for the practice supervisor development programme (PSDP), a DfE funded, national programme providing training and reflective supervision to practice supervisors in social work, across the UK. She continues to provide reflective supervision to managers at different levels of the organisation, as part of the course.
Anna works as a consultant and trainer in a private capacity, providing reflective supervision and training on reflective practice groups/models to Local Authorities, psychologists in mental health hospitals and to schools across the UK.
She is an expert in child protection work and worked as an expert witness in complex court proceedings for more than 10 years. Her professional doctorate was about the emotional and unconscious dynamics in child protection work. She has also published an article and a chapter in a book about reflective supervision for child protection practice.
Harvey, Anna (2017) “The shadow falls”: Understanding the factors involved in decision-making in local authority children’s services. Professional Doctorate thesis, Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust / University of East London. Full text available
Harvey, Anna and Henderson, Fiona (2014) Reflective supervision for child protection practice – Reaching beneath the surface. Journal of Social Work Practice, 28 (3). pp. 343-356. ISSN 0265-0533
Harvey, Anna (2010) Getting a grip on social work. Journal of Social Work Practice, 24 (2). pp. 139-153. ISSN 0265-0533
Dr Monalesia Earle
Monalesia Earle, PhD, has been a qualified and registered social worker since the 1980s. She has an extensive background in management, workforce development, recruitment, HR, court work, and mediation. She is particularly interested in supervision and also in working with Newly Qualified Social Workers to assist them in understanding the importance of critical analysis in their assessments. Her professional career has mostly been spent in Children’s and Families Services, and she recently worked as a supervisor of volunteer coaches.
Monalesia has designed and delivered podcasts and blogs on a variety of social work and cultural topics. She is a proponent of knowledge exchange and believes that every individual has something to contribute, even if they may not think they do.
She received her PhD in 2016 and has extensive publications in the areas of comics/graphic novels, gender and queer studies, postcolonial and Gothic studies, and feminist studies. She is originally from New York but has lived and worked in the UK since 2004.
Frances Millar
Frances Millar is a qualified nurse with a wealth of expertise acquired over more than 37 years within the NHS. Her training was completed at esteemed institutions, namely Great Ormond Street and Stoke Mandeville Hospitals. For the last two decades, she has held the respected roles of Head of Service and Senior Manager, focusing extensively on Safeguarding for Mental Health, Learning Disability, in addition to both the Adult and Children population. She has played a crucial role in addressing the broader contextual safeguarding agenda in particular Modern Slavery and PREVENT. Frances also undertakes the role of Chair, Author and Reviewer in Serious Case/ Practice Reviews and Domestic Homicide Reviews.
Throughout her professional journey, she has demonstrated exceptional proficiency in the development, delivery, and evaluation of training programs, with a specialisation in various Safeguarding domains. Her areas of expertise encompass Safeguarding Children and Children at Risk, Safeguarding Adults and Adults at Risk, Violence Against Women Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence, Older People Domestic Abuse, Section 5 Professional Allegation of a Person in a Position of Trust, Safeguarding Enquiries, Designated Safeguarding Person, Contextual Safeguarding, Mental Capacity Act, Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards, and Deprivation of Liberty concerning individuals aged 16/17 years. Furthermore, her commitment to excellence is exemplified by her ability to design customised training modules that accommodate diverse learning styles. She has incorporated real-life incidents and addressed specific learning needs, undertaking this task both independently and in collaboration with colleagues from various partnership agencies.
She has the following qualifications: –
MSc/ Postgraduate Health and Social Care Leadership
BSc (Hons in Health Studies to include Leadership, Quality, Law in Healthcare and Research)
Diploma in Trauma Risk Incident Management
Diploma in Professional Practice
Registered General Nurse
Best Interest Assessor/ Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards/ Mental Capacity Act – University of Manchester
English National Board Paediatrics
Public Service Management Wales Course for Leaders – Welsh Government
Glynis Williams
Glynis has over 30 years working in Childrens Social Care and the wider Children and Adult Sector including within Health, the Prison Service and voluntary sector. She has carried out Leadership roles at a Senior Level for over 14 years and is a qualified social worker. Glynis now works as an Independent Safeguarding Consultant. She has an interest in workforce development particularly in a multi-agency context. Strong multi-agency and multi-disciplinary working is vital to identifying and responding to the needs of children and families. Wherever possible she enjoys bringing together practitioners from a range of backgrounds to develop their learning and skills together.
Hayley Tuffin
Hayley Tuffin is a registered social worker with over 25 years experience working with child and adult mental ill health.
She has extensive child protection experience, having also worked as a systemic family therapist in multi-disciplinary teams.
Hayley has experience of working with teenagers who self harm, behavioural issues, early onset psychosis, undiagnosed learning difficulties and social/communication issues, intervention and with refuges and asylum seekers, therapeutic work with Looked After children, individually & with foster families; parenting work and parenting assessments, working with female victims of domestic violence. Working with children who have been sexually abused, offering individual and family work, looking at issues of risk assessment, mother/daughter relationships, and abuse of adult parents.
Jacqui Lawrence
James Upton
James Upton is a qualified Social Worker and a member of the international body Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT). He worked in the drugs and alcohol field for 10 years focusing on adult treatment, children in care, young offenders and as a manager in the NHS working with children and young people in treatment. Until 2016 he worked as a practicing Social Worker and Safeguarding trainer with a key focus on children, young people and their families. James has also lectured at University on Health and Social Care. James is now a Freelance trainer working for a range of organisations including the NSPCC, Alcohol Change UK and In-Trac. He also provides a portfolio of private training in Motivational Interviewing and Safeguarding.
Training has formed a key part of James’s portfolio over the last 24 years in his work across 5 different local authorities. Since 1999 he has delivered Safeguarding training and Motivational Interviewing training to early Years, Schools and Colleges, Alcohol and Drugs workers (children and adults), Youth Workers, Teachers, Social Workers, Multi-Agency staff involved in safeguarding and Youth Offending Team staff.
At the heart of his approach to training and consultancy is his compassionate approach and the belief that a collaborative approach to working with people to affect change in their lives works best.
Jayne Ashton Powell
Jayne Ashton Powell is a systemic practitioner social worker with over 20 years experience working in both adults’ and children’s services. Jayne has also worked in third sector training agencies, delivering training to teenagers struggling to achieve their potential in school and on training programmes in preparation for work.
Jayne has a BSc in Behavioural Science, MSc in Health Psychology and is qualified in post-16 education with a PGCE; she has also completed the Foundation and Intermediate level training in Systemic Practice and Family Therapy course.
She has worked as a manager of a mental health rehabilitation residential service providing support to adults with mental health diagnoses and co-occurring conditions and in an adult protection team as a safeguarding coordinator, which involved overseeing the adult protection process, instructing s126 enquiries, undertaking non-criminal investigations, chairing strategy meetings and delivering training to wider stakeholders.
Jayne has previously worked in a Children Looked After Team and also held child protection cases as a social worker, completing duties such as statutory child protection visits, s.47 enquiries, chairing core group meetings and attending Child Protection Case Conferences.
She currently works in an edge of care team for children’s services, working therapeutically with parents where there are child protection concerns for children, to consider change and keep children safe within their family system. Jayne also undertakes Form F and Connected Persons Assessments independently and has worked in a Senior Social Work role responding to child at risk reports of concern, which includes chairing strategy discussion meetings. She is an experienced trainer with exceptional communication skills who is also currently facilitating reflective case discussions, presentations and support to the wider children’s services teams to implement a systemic model of practice for the service.
Jeremy Frankel
Jeremy Frankel has over twenty years’ experience in child protection and related work in health, local authority, independent and multi-agency settings.
His approach is influenced by a combination of critical and dynamic theory, aiming to develop solutions in partnership with commissioning organisations.
Increasing interest in the complex relationships between organisational environment and the role of supervision in helping health practitioners, social workers, Headteachers, and others arrive at and defend interventions, has led Jeremy into direct safeguarding supervision; he now supervises a range of safeguarding nurses, doctors and social workers in both Adults and Children’s services. In particular, Jeremy has developed an approach to supervision which focuses on ‘best use of authority’ reflecting and modelling best use of ‘authority’ as a key concept in all safeguarding work.
Juliette Barnes
Juliette Barnes has over twenty years’ experience of direct work with children, young people and adults including those with disabilities and complex health care needs.
Following completion of her psychology degree, Juliette specialised in Child Psychology. She became Head of Service at White Lodge Centre and was responsible for numerous services including: residential short breaks, an extensive activities programme, family link scheme and domiciliary service, nursery education, therapeutic services and out of school activities.
In addition, Juliette became an advisor to a Local Safeguarding Board, with a particular focus on the impact of neglect on child development, both for disabled children and those who develop “typically”.
Creative and flexible, Juliette has been providing training for multi and interagency groups for over 12 years and for In-Trac over 9 years, She regularly delivers training on a variety of topics relating to Child Development, Safeguarding, (both adults and children) Direct Work and Disability.
Karen Patterson
Karen Patterson has over 25 years’ experience and has worked in a variety of health and social care settings as a registered manager, quality manager, internal verifier and assessor for health, and trainer.
Karen has worked with people with varying degrees of learning disabilities including those with profound learning disabilities, autism and physical disabilities. Karen has also worked within mental health setting and with people that have dementia.
Karen delivers training including in the Mental Capacity Act 2005, the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards and Safeguarding Adults.
Lisa Watkins
Dr Lisa Watkins is a systemic social work practitioner and consultant. Qualifying as a social worker in 2007, Lisa worked in statutory children’s teams and then moved to the third sector. Her practice evolved while completing the Intermediate Level course in Systemic Family Therapy and her focus was working therapeutically with victims/survivors of childhood sexual abuse and rape.
Lisa joined an American study abroad university in London in 2016, and as a senior manager she advised and worked directly with students who experienced difficulties while abroad. She studied for a professional doctorate in Advanced Practice and Research: Social Work and Social Care at the Tavistock & Portman, London, completing her doctorate in 2023. Her studies included using psychoanalytic, systemic theory, relationship-based approaches when working with individuals and families.
Lisa works independently, commissioned by several stakeholders. Her current work involves introducing systemic family therapy ideas to children services, providing a restorative approach to supervision as part of Ofsted improvement planning, providing independent supervision, parenting assessments and facilitating workshops. Her passion, working alongside families, is maintained by a case holding role in a family support team.
Louise Doherty
Louise Doherty has worked for the NHS for over 30 years. As a midwife she developed a passion for working and engaging with vulnerable families, which led her to training as a health visitor. She subsequently developed her experience over the last 16 years having held numerous senior safeguarding roles with Community Health Services. She is a collaborative worker who strives for excellence, with an ability to challenge, support and develop professionals’ knowledge and competencies to safeguard children.
Louise is an effective communicator and trainer, working at different levels within a variety of organisations. She has extensive experience of development and implementation of Safeguarding Policies and of undertaking Internal Management Reviews using the National Patient Safety Root Cause Analysis Model for SCR’s and Domestic Homicide Reviews within Community Health Services and Primary Care.
Lynn Buckle
Lynn Buckle began her career as a youth worker before moving into palliative care. She qualified as a social worker in 2000 and has worked in a range of departments in children’s services including residential care and secure, and also in an assessment team. Most recently, Lynn has worked as an IRO in two different authorities. She has the PTLLS training qualification and enjoys sharing her knowledge as well as facilitating the learning of others.
Meg Boustead
Since qualifying as a social worker in 1983 Meg have predominately worked in children’s safeguarding in local authority settings, initially as a social worker, then as a Team Manager, Area Child Protection Committee (ACPC) Training Officer, Child Protection Review Manager (precursor of Independent Reviewing Officer), and Child Protection Co-ordinator (managing Child Protection Review Managers). From 2002 onwards she took on more senior roles, initially as Service Manager, managing long term social work teams, then as Strategic Manager for Looked After Children. From 2009 until 2014 she was Head of Safeguarding, an Assistant Director role with responsibility for all children’s social care services in that local authority.
Since becoming independent in 2014 Meg has covered Assistant Director and Strategic Manager roles on an interim basis, delivered child protection training, completed service reviews and case reviews, investigated complaints and provided independent expert reports for court.
Meg is a registered social worker with Master’s degrees in Public Administration and Advanced Child Protection.
Penny Sturt
Penny Sturt is a consultant, trainer and independent registered social worker. She has considerable experience as a front line manager in supervising and mentoring staff.
Penny has a particular interest in supervision and developing good supervisory practice in social care, health, early years and school settings. Penny has published on supervision and has also worked as a Lead Reviewer/Author in a Serious Case Review. She has a particular expertise in developing Supervision in schools and other educational settings.
Phillida Miles
Phillida Miles is a qualified and registered social worker as well as a qualified coach who provides consultancy, training and interim management.
She has over thirty years of experience, working across adult and children’s services both in the UK and abroad and has an established reputation for delivering high quality interventions and programmes
Rhian Taylor
Rhian Taylor has been a qualified social worker for over 20 years and is registered with Social Work England. Her practice experience is predominantly with adolescents, having worked as a social worker and practice manager with children in care, young offenders, care leavers and unaccompanied asylum seekers. She combined this work with being an Associate Lecturer for the Open University.
Rhian has a particular interest in the role of reflective practice and supervision, and whilst working for a Local Authority she initiated a research project looking at the role of reflective supervision.
Rhian is a part time lecturer at the University of Kent. She teaches on the undergraduate, postgraduate and Step-Up to social work programmes. Alongside academia, Rhian’s work for In-Trac has involved being the independent reviewer on a Serious Case Review, and training on a range of issues, including working with adolescents, and supervision skills.
Sonia Mayor
Sonia Mayor focuses on leadership and team development, reflective supervision, inter-agency collaboration and resilience. Her specialism is in supporting others to adapt to change and uncertainty by combining her knowledge and experience in workforce reform and psychotherapy.
She has a proven track record of facilitating groups with diverse and conflicting priorities enabling groups to work more effectively together. Her work on the national review of the Common Core skills for children’s workforce was endorsed across sectors and across parties.
She also has experience as an independent trainer in Safeguarding, Supervision and Child Protection. Previously, she worked as a Consultant Clinical Supervisor for an NHS evidence-based Restorative Clinical Supervision Programme shown to be effective in reducing stress and increasing compassion. Prior to this she has held leadership positions in the Civil Service and Housing, working on children’s policy, workforce reform and anti poverty initiatives, working locally, regionally, and nationally in the UK. She has championed the voices of children in care, black minority ethnic communities and women experiencing domestic violence, winning a commendation for her work in this field.
Sue Howard
Sue Howard is a trainer and consultant with significant experience in the field of safeguarding children and safeguarding adults at risk.
She is a retired police officer, with many years’ experience of working within the Public Protection Unit dealing with safeguarding children and adults at risk.
She spent several years at the NPIA (National Police Improvement Agency, now COPS, College of Policing) developing training materials, and delivering safeguarding for children and vulnerable adults, investigative interviewing, serious sexual offences, and domestic abuse awareness training for the police service, social services, armed forces, and other agencies nationally.
After almost 30 years in the police service Sue then worked for Rutland County Council for six years as an Early Help Targeted Intervention Practitioner, carrying a caseload. Sue now regularly delivers safeguarding training, investigative and interview skills, and reflective supervision training.
Susan Inker
Susan was qualified as a family lawyer in 1989.
Whilst practicing both in London and in Surrey, most of her time was spent advising clients in the office, and as an advocate in court. She ran a successful family law practice specialising in child and adult safeguarding.
Susan was also a member of the Family Law Association for over 15 years.
Whilst working for various family law practices in London and in Surrey area, Susan was actively involved in championing work around women and their children subject to Domestic Abuse. Susan was a member of a steering group for research conducted by Dr Lorraine Radford in 1996 and for 3 years was the Vice Chair of the Surrey Domestic Violence Strategic Policy Group.
Susan also developed and delivered the national training for Co-Ordinated Action for Domesic Abuse (CAADA), now SafeLives, for the first Independent Domestic Violence Advocates (IDVA) role throughout England and Wales. She contributed to the development of the National Standards for Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence for Women’s Aid.
Susan left private practice in 2004 to set up and develop a consultancy focused training in health and social care law and practice She is passionate about legal literacy, helping non lawyers interpret the legal rules and apply them into practice. She is passionate that staff not only do things right in accordance with the law, but to do the right thing.
Since 2004 she has worked as an independent consultant/trainer, written policy and operating procedures. She is currently retained by a private London hospital as a safeguarding subject matter expert. She has also designed, developed and delivered training courses incorporating knowledge and skills in England and Wales for a hundreds of clients to include local authorities, ICB’s, Trusts, Probation, Home Office and Charities. Her feedback is consistently outstanding.
Susan is specialised in developing and delivering training on the Mental Capacity Act 2005. In 2009 she designed and developed the qualification accredited by the Secretary of State, at Masters level 7, for Kingston University in Surrey for the Best Interest Assessors under the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards. She currently delivers this qualification at Teeside University in the North East.
More recently Susan conceptualised, developed and delivered both the Executive Leadership and Clinical Leadership in Safeguarding courses commissioned by NHS England. This work was recognized with an award at the HSJ Awards in 2020.
Susan is a dedicated, focused and passionate professional, with a firm value base.
